


Time Of Our Lives

by Mamogirl



Category: Backstreet Boys
Genre: 25th Anniversary - Freeform, First Meeting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-30
Updated: 2018-04-30
Packaged: 2019-04-30 04:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14488626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mamogirl/pseuds/Mamogirl
Summary: As the night of the Backstreet Boys's twenty-fifth anniversary comes to a conclusion, Brian and Nick reflect on that first meeting.





	Time Of Our Lives

Time Of Our Lives

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_“Look where we are and what we’ve been through.”_

_  
Time, Black &Blue _

 

 

 

 

 

_1993_

_Everything was loud, too loud. Storms of people kept walking by from every direction, not even noticing or caring about the young kid that stood in the middle of the hallway, looking around distraught and completely lost: he was supposed to take a connecting flight to Orlando but it was oh so confusing, so many information and so many flights and he didn’t know where he was supposed to be or go. He didn’t know if he actually wanted to find it out, a growing part of him whispering and taunting to just turn around and go back to where he had been for those first seventeen years of his life._

_It was all so crazy._

_The previous day he had been sitting in school, counting down the days that were still left until graduation. The previous day his head had been full of basketball games, singing in church with his parents and whether if he could manage to get another gig so that he could have money to save for his future college adventure. The previous day he had only dreamed about becoming a singer, a full-time job that maybe wasn’t going to get him rich but it was just that, a dream that every child made when he realized that he was actually good at something. And for singing, height didn’t matter so he wasn’t going to be discarded just because he wasn’t tall enough, even though he played way better than half of the school team._

_Maybe he was still dreaming._

_Yes, that must be the truth. He had fallen asleep during American history’s class and he had dreamed about his cousin’s phone call, that phone call that had basically changed his life up until that moment. The phone call that had made him take a plane for the first time in his life and step out of the comforting zone that Kentucky had always been. Seventeen years and he had never been outside his state. Seventeen years and he had never been that far away from his family, always looking up to his mother for support and guide. But his family wasn’t there with him, his mother had let him wander off in the world trusting him to learn his way on his own._

_And, yet, he was so scared._

_What if they didn’t like him? What if he didn’t fit in, what if he was going to be just the last guy, the one that had to step in only because they needed to be five? What if he wasn’t good enough and that journey was going to be just wasted time? What if..._

_Doubts and fears kept spinning around his mind as time clocked by. He knew he needed to keep going if he didn’t want to miss his flight but... maybe that was a sign that he needed to be responsible and go back home. A singing career? He was crazy, that was for sure. It was crazy, there wasn’t nothing sure and secure about that chance. Also, it would mean to leave behind his life, his family, his friends..._

_Was he ready for that?_

_“Ehi, kid, you look lost.”_

_Brian turned around, almost hoping and wishing that no one was talking to him. Instead, two pilots were looking directly to him, waiting for his reply._

_“A little. I don’t know where I’m supposed to go.”_

_“First time?”_

_“Yes, sir.”_

_“What’s your flight? Maybe we can help you.”_

_That was it. Brian could ask them if there was a flight to Lexington and that crazy adventure would only be just a dream. Or he could try. Or he could jump, metaphorically speaking. What was he going to lose, after all? Even if it ended badly, he still could say that he had tried and that he had seen another state, something bigger and different from the little world he had always lived up until that moment._

_“The flight to Orland. – Brian said with a renewed confidence. – It’s all so chaotic.”_

_“Well, son, I think you’re lucky because that’s our flight too.”_

_That couldn’t be just a coincidence. That was the sign that Brian had been waiting. He was supposed to go to Orlando and, whatever would happen, it was going to be the best decision he would ever make._

 

 

 

_*********_

 

 

 

 

 

_The night had fallen earlier than usual. Or, perhaps, it was Brian who hadn’t been alert enough to notice the change in the light, or when the sun had decided that it was to go to sleep and let the moon take its place. The day... well, the day had been quite crazy, weird and something resembling a dream: he had arrived that morning, a quick hello and a rehearsal just to see if he could fit and then he had been off again, this time to sing in front of the man that would decide his destiny._

_He should be tired. He was exhausted, to be truly honest, but his body didn’t seem needing rest: every nerve was still in overdrive, the emotions of what had happened still running though his body and striking every chord as if it was just an instrument ready to be played. He needed time to cool down, to work out that the life he had known until that moment was going to change indefinitely._

_Was he ready for that?_

_Did he want to become a singer?_

_Yes, of course. The moment he had hit the right notes and all the other boys had looked at him with their eyes opened for the surprise, he had known that it was it. That was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life, screw being responsible and going to college and having a degree. The group was a once in a lifetime chance and he would be stupid, the stupidest boy in the universe, if he would turn it down just because he was scared. And if it didn’t work out... well, at least he had tried. But he was determined to make it, this opportunity wasn’t going to turn out like his other dream, shattered only because he wasn’t tall enough._

_The ball hit the net, falling through it and then rolling on the other side of the basketball court. Brian had been played since the moment they had come back from the workhouse, claiming that he needed some time alone just to think about things. He knew he should be heading inside and get to know better Aj, Howie and Nick but... well, the truth was that he was a little shy and it was almost intimidating having to win over three people, three complete strangers who he was going to share every moment for the rest of his life._

_What if they didn’t like him?_

_It happened rarely. Usually, Brian was able to win over people easily, a couple of jokes and a warm smile that, as his mother kept saying, it was the best key to unlock anyone’s doubt and uncertainty.  But it was a different situation. He knew only Kevin and his cousin was the main reason why he was there in the first place: he didn’t have to go through auditions, he didn’t have the chance to build up a sort of relationship before. What if they would end up just being coworkers? What if he fit just for the singing but nothing else?_

_Another shoot. Another ball that went through the net. But this time it didn’t roll away from Brian. This time it was stopped by another set of feet._

_“Kevin, I’m not in the mood for a pep talk...”_

_“I’m not Kevin.”_

_The voice didn’t surely belong to his cousin. Brian looked up and he came across that blonde hair and those piercing blue eyes, a sorry smile for being not the one wanted. Nick was a singular and peculiar boy, Brian had to admit. There was something in him that he couldn’t put, something that made him almost impossible to forget. Five years separated them and, still, that thirteen-year-old boy was far more interesting than the rest of the other three and older ones._

_And Brian couldn’t explain why he felt that connected to him. Perhaps it was because both were the outsider, the odd ones sticking out because of age and time of arrival. Perhaps it was because Brian had always wanted to have a little brother, someone who would tag along and wouldn’t just stand his presence because he had to. But there was something connecting the two of them and, even if he couldn’t point out what it was, Brian wanted that boy to be his friend._

_“You’ll look horrible with his black eyebrows.”_

_“Has he always had them?” Nick asked while coming closer, the ball underneath his arm._

_“Oh yes. – Brian replied with a grin. – And I can’t tell you how many nightmares I had because of them when we were younger.”_

_Nick laughed and, quickly after, Brian joined that silver sound lingering in the air. A soft and comforting silence, which was kind of strange because these two souls hadn’t known each other long enough not to need to fill the air with words and voices, settled down between them._

_“You good playing basket?” Brian asked out of the blue, his gaze falling upon the ball Nick was holding._

_“Not really. – Nick answered sheepishly. – I’ve always played by myself.”_

_“Not even at school?”_

_“Especially at school. – Nick looked down, almost as if he was embarrassed to talk about his school days. A pang of comfort and reassurance rushed over Brian, a desire to wipe away that sadness that was paining Nick’s blue eyes. – I wasn’t that lucky with friends.”_

_“Well... – Brian got up and, with a quick move that Nick didn’t expect, took the ball away from the boy’s arm. – Do you want to play with me? I think I can teach so many cool secrets.”_

_“Really?” Nick’s eye grew bigger for the surprise._

_“Really. I guess today’s your lucky day.” Brian smiled and, for a second, Nick didn’t know why he felt as if the world had stopped moving around him. He couldn’t explain it, it was a feeling that he had never experienced before._

_Was that how it felt to finally have a friend?_

_“Brian?”_

_Brian turned around, not really expecting any other reaction than starting to explain how to throw the ball from a long distance. “Uh?”_

_“Can we be friends?”_

_“I think we’re going to be more than just friends.” Brian said, his smile lightening up Nick’s mood._

_“Can we really be best friends?” Nick couldn’t believe it. It was all so strange because they didn’t know each other before that day. It was weird because Brian was almost eighteen years old and why should he be wanting to be friends with him? But he wanted it and that mere thought made Nick feel taller and bigger, older and special._

_He had never had a best friend before._

_“Of course.” Brian replied, not really knowing where all the confidence came from. But it felt right. It felt as if it was fate that had brought them together. Another sign that he had taken the right decision when he had followed those pilots instead than going back home._

_“Forever?”_

_Brian threw the ball to Nick who managed to catch it easily. “Forever.”_

 

 

*********

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

_2018_

“You know, you were wrong.” Nick whispered into Brian’s ear, the soft air landing on their naked skin as the moonlight played with its reflection on the white sheets.

“Mh… no.” Brian replied, his eyes still closed as his fingertips travelled up and down on Nick’s chest.

“You don’t even know what it is about!”

A chuckle escaped Brian’s lips, an appeal of a laughter that was too tired and sleepy to come out. “Doesn’t matter. I’m never wrong.”

“You were. – Nick repeated with more conviction. – You were wrong, my dear Frick.” He ended that sentence nibbling Brian’s ear, a shiver of pleasure ran through Brian’s spine; his fingers travelled a little bit lower, following the line of those muscles showing up after years of working out.

“What’s this about, then?”

“It’s stupid, actually.”

“Come on! Now you have to tell me!” The caressing didn’t take much time to turn into tickling, laughter and stops erupting from Nick’s voice and filling the air with their silver sounds.

“Okay! Okay! I’ll tell you! But stop!”

Brian smiled with a satisfied grin painted on his face, getting up a little so that he could look in Nick’s eyes. There hadn’t been grand gestures that night, all the energies burned into that first amazing show after more than a month or rest and pause.

He had missed it.

He had missed the thrill of going up on the stage, those smiles and those excited faces that melted into each other, a blur of people that wanted nothing more than seeing them singing and dancing and making their worries disappear just for one night. And yes, he had missed it even though his voice wasn’t still hundred percent back, even though it might never come back ever again as it used to be. But Brian had made peace with it, at least temporary.

And, most of all, Brian had missed _their_ after-show routine. His and Nick’s after show routine. It was always different from all the other times, those casual or needing times when making love was just another way to remind themselves that they were still there. That they were really together, not just part of a bittersweet dream or illusion.

So, no, they hadn’t talked about the big day already passed by judging by how dark the night seemed out of the window. But it was still a milestone, something that only a couple of people in the world managed to reach. And it was a special milestone for them too and Brian knew that, somehow, whatever he had been wrong about had something to do with that special day.

“What was I wrong about, then?”

“Well… remember the day when you arrived at the apartment?”

“As if I could forget. The day my life changed completely.”

“Yep. That day. Twenty-five years ago. When my life changed too.”

“What about that day, then?”

“Remember how you taught me that basket shoot? And how I asked you if...”

“… if I could be your best friend." Brian completed the sentence for Nick, smiling softly at that memory. It really happened a long time ago but the image of that night was still saved into Brian’s mind. Everything that had happened with Nick was and would always be framed into his mind, even when he would be old and not remembering anything else but his other half.

“Yes.”

“Why was I wrong then?”

“Well, I asked you if you think we would be friends forever.”

Brian’s forehead frowned in confusion. “And I answered you that yes, we were going to be friends forever. Am I wrong?”

“Well… - Nick leaned a little bit, so that he could brush his lips upon Brian’s cheek. - … we aren’t just friends, aren’t we?”

Oh, that was indeed true. And it was true also that they had never been just friends, even when they didn’t even know that there could be something deeper, something more important and bigger than just friendship. There had always been a sort of attraction underneath their touches, some kind of siren that would sing for them and wanted them closer and closer than what they were already. And that force had been there since the first time Brian had set foot inside the small flat that Kevin and Howie shared, and which would had become his very first house away from his parent and his Kentucky. That first meeting was still burned into Brian’s memory, untouched by the hands of time: Nick had been just a kid, still not even taller than him and with that blonde hair that tasted as sun and summer.

And something, that day, had happened.

Something had struck a chord inside Brian’s heart, as if that missing part of his heart had finally found its partner and mate so that it could be whole again. It felt as if he had finally found his soulmate, although it had been hard and almost impossible to define and understand that feeling of being home again, of finally finding that piece that had been missed and searched into fields and different paths.

It had been easy, then, being Nick’s best friends since that first night. Somehow, Brian knew that it was the right thing, the rightest thing he would ever do in his life. It felt right, mostly because none of them had been able to understand how deep and profound their relationship was going to be in just a matter of days and weeks. They called it friendship because, at that time, they didn’t have any other word to define it, always slipping away from that label because it felt too small. That label couldn’t explain that attraction and magnetism acting between them, pushing boundaries that had existed for centuries and centuries.

It had been hard. Brian could now look back at those times and see how much he had struggled to come to terms with that longing, that desire that had never diminished and that wanted their bodies to be as close as it was possible. Tainted. Dirty. Wrong. Those words came up with a vengeance, a storm that it had been hard to breathe away; those words had been the reason why Brian had tried to resist that desire, afraid of how those hugs, that longed more than they should, could been seen and judged. He hadn’t wanted to ruin and taint Nick since the beginning, knowing that real world could and would be so much harder and meaner that what they were prepared to face and fight.  

Maybe he had been the one to blame for those hard years, those weeks and months when their longing looks had turned into ocean and storms of mournful gate and sadness. How many times the question had troubled around Brian’s mind, that agonizing wonder of why they couldn’t be something more, why their souls were crying and couldn’t be comforted and healed with only a simple and small kiss? Too many to count, so many and many times that had started to pile themselves into a column too hard to break down, a metaphor for a dull pain that had become a solitary companion for years and years: it never went away, it had always been there, silently remembering them how everything could and would be better if they just stood together and face the obstacles. 

But now that pain had turned into a ghost, a spirit that just wanted to be a memory of how they never wanted to go back to. Now that pain was defeated every time Nick’s hand would slip upon Brian’s spine, running down so slowly because they wanted to taste his reactions, they wanted to feel those shivers that would lit up the air as if they were nothing more than fireworks of pleasure and need.

Brian’s hand lost itself into Nick’s hair, finally grew back although it wasn’t that long that Brian loved so much. But it was better than the morning he came back in the house, his hair gone and he had to even say that he did like it otherwise Nick would pout for more than an afternoon.

“Yes, we are way more than friends. And we’ve been less than best friends. We’ve been everything to each other and nothing; we used to know everything about the other and then, one day, we knew nothing. We loved each other and then we hated each other. We’ve been through so many stages and, yet, here we are. Together. – Brian’s lips found that soft spot on Nick’s that would make the man shudder with anticipation of what was about to come. – So, I guess I was right.”

“How so?” Nick asked, his tone low and those simple syllables vibrating against Brian’s cheek.

“Because we are more than just friends but we’ll be together forever.”

“You really can’t admit that you were wrong?”

Another kiss. Another spot. Another shiver and another spark of pleasure.

“I’m never wrong.”

“Oh, I can show you all the thousand times you’ve been wrong, my dear.”

“Thousand?”

“But who’s counting?”

Nick’s breath tickled a little, a cool blow on the chest, right there where the skin was still a little bit more sensitive. That scar that was always there, a memoir of how things could get swiped away by life in a blink, the scar that showed Nick, more than anything else, how far Brian could go just to keep going back to him.

Forever.

 

 

.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know it's a little bit late, but here is a short fic for the group's anniversary. I can always blame the #BackstreetTime too, right? lol  
> And of course, for me it's a 25th anniversayr of Frick&Frack. 
> 
> Cinzia


End file.
